View source for Southern Italy

{{Short description|Macroregion of Italy}}
{{For multi|the EU constituency|Southern Italy (European Parliament constituency)|the statistical regions of the EU|South Italy}}
{{Redirect|Mezzogiorno||Mezzogiorno (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Southern Italy
| other_name = 
| native_name = {{native name|it|Italia meridionale}}<br/>{{native name|it|Sud Italia}}<br/>{{native name|it|Meridione}}<br/>{{native name|it|Mezzogiorno}}
| native_name_lang = it
| image_map = File:Mezzogiorno.svg
| map_alt = Map of Italy, highlighting southern Italy, highlighting central Italy
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[Italy]]
| parts_type = [[Regions of Italy|Regions]]
| parts_style = list
| parts = [[#Regions|List]]
| p1 = {{Flagicon|Abruzzo}} [[Abruzzo]]
| p2 = {{Flagicon|Apulia}} [[Apulia]]
| p3 = {{Flagicon|Basilicata}} [[Basilicata]]
| p4 = {{Flagicon|Calabria}} [[Calabria]]
| p5 = {{Flagicon|Campania}} [[Campania]]
| p6 = {{Flagicon|Molise}} [[Molise]]
| p7 = {{Flagicon|Sardinia}} [[Sardinia]]
| p8 = {{Flagicon|Sicily}} [[Sicily]]
| blank_name = Languages
| blank_info = &nbsp;
| blank1_name = &nbsp;– Official language
| blank1_info = [[Italian language|Italian]]
| blank2_name = &nbsp;– [[Languages of Italy#Historical linguistic minorities|Official linguistic minorities]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |title=Legge 482 |publisher=Webcitation.org |access-date=2015-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924042628/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |archive-date= 24 September 2015 }}</ref>
| blank2_info = {{unbulleted list
|[[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]]
|[[Algherese dialect|Catalan]]
|[[Calabrian Greek]]
|[[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]]
|[[Griko dialect]]
|[[Occitan language|Occitan]]
|[[Sardinian language|Sardinian]]
|[[Slavomolisano dialect|Serbo-Croatian]]
}}
| blank3_name = &nbsp;– Regional languages
| blank3_info = {{unbulleted list
|[[Corsican language|Corsican]]
|[[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]]
|[[Sicilian language|Sicilian]]
}}
| area_total_km2 = 123024
| population_est = 20,637,360
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.demo.istat.it/bilmens2019gen/index.html|title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT|website=www.demo.istat.it|access-date=2019-10-04|archive-date=2020-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217181039/http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2019gen/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| pop_est_as_of = 2019
}}

'''Southern Italy''' ({{langx|it|Sud Italia}}, {{IPA|it|ˈsud iˈtaːlja|lang}}, or {{lang|it|Italia meridionale}}, {{IPA|it|iˈtaːlja meridjoˈnaːle|lang}}; {{langx|nap|'o Sudde}}; {{langx|scn|Italia dû Suddi}}), also known as {{lang|it|'''Meridione'''}} ({{IPA|it|meriˈdjoːne|lang}}) or {{lang|it|'''Mezzogiorno'''}} ({{IPA|it|ˌmɛddzoˈdʒorno|lang}}; {{langx|nap|Miezojuorno|links=no}}; {{langx|scn|Menzujornu|links=no}}; {{literal translation|Midday}}), is a [[macroregion]] of [[Italy]] consisting of its southern [[Regions of Italy|regions]].

The term "{{lang|it|Mezzogiorno}}" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the [[Historical region|historical]] and [[cultural region]] that was once politically under the administration of the former Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] (officially denominated as one entity {{lang|la|Regnum Siciliae citra Pharum}} and {{lang|la|ultra Pharum}}, i.e. "Kingdom of Sicily on the other side of [[Strait of Messina|the Strait]]" and "across the Strait") and which later shared a common organization into Italy's largest [[List of historical states of Italy|pre-unitarian state]], the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]].<ref>«Con questa denominazione si indica lo Stato costituito nel dic. 1816 con l’unificazione dei regni di Napoli e di Sicilia, che restaurava l’autorità borbonica su tutta l’Italia meridionale; fu mantenuta fino all’ott. 1860, quando, tramite plebiscito, fu votata l’annessione al regno di Sardegna.» {{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/due-sicilie-regno-delle_%28Dizionario-di-Storia%29/|title=Regno delle Due Sicilie in ''Dizionario di Storia''|website=www.treccani.it}}</ref><ref>«Mezzogiorno, region in Italy roughly coextensive with the former Kingdom of Naples.» {{cite web|title=Mezzogiorno|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mezzogiorno|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref><ref>«Meridionale: in part.: che fa parte delle regioni continentali e insulari del Mezzogiorno d'Italia (delimitate convenzionalmente dai fiumi [[Garigliano]] e [[Sangro]]), le quali, in età prerisorgimentale, costituivano il Regno delle due Sicilie.» Battaglia, Salvatore (1961). ''Grande dizionario della lingua italiana'', UTET, Torino, V. X, p.160.</ref><ref>«Il regno meridionale, Napoli e Sicilia con 6 milioni e 200 mila abitanti,... pare in principio per certa foga di riforme e per valori d'ingegni filosofici e riformisti gareggiare con la Lombardia austriaca.» Carducci, III-18-21, citato in ''Grande dizionario della lingua italiana'', UTET, Torino, V. X, p.160.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art425.htm|title=Kingdom and House of the Two Sicilies|author=Luigi Mendola}}</ref><ref>«Tra le maggiori novità del secolo ci fu proprio il ritorno all'indipendenza del regno meridionale, che riunì in un unico stato indipendente e sovrano il Mezzogiorno insulare e continentale.» {{cite book|author=Francesca Canale Cama; Daniele Casanova; Rosa Maria Delli Quadri|title=Storia del Mediterraneo moderno e contemporaneo|publisher=Guida Editori|place=Napoli|year=2017|page=173}}</ref>

The island of [[Sardinia]], which was not part of the aforementioned [[polity]] and had been under the rule of the [[Alps|Alpine]] [[House of Savoy]], which would eventually annex the Bourbons' southern Italian kingdom altogether, is nonetheless often subsumed into the {{lang|it|Mezzogiorno}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/25?s=51620&v=2&c=3690&t=1|title=Il rapporto annuale Svimez sull'economia del Mezzogiorno|year=2007}}</ref><ref name="istat">{{cite web|url=http://www3.istat.it/salastampa/comunicati/non_calendario/20091015_00/testointegrale20091015.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109153657/http://www3.istat.it/salastampa/comunicati/non_calendario/20091015_00/testointegrale20091015.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 January 2015|title=Classificazione economica ISTAT|access-date=23 October 2009|language=it}}</ref> The [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|Italian National Institute of Statistics]] (ISTAT) employs the term "[[south Italy]]" ({{lang|it|Italia meridionale}}, or just {{lang|it|Sud}}, i.e. "south") to statistically identify in its reportings the six mainland regions of southern Italy without Sicily and Sardinia, which form a distinct statistical region under the ISTAT denominated "[[Insular Italy]]" ({{lang|it|Italia insulare}}, or simply {{lang|it|Isole}} "Islands").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://demo.istat.it/pop2009/index.html|title=Classificazione demografica ISTAT|access-date=23 October 2009|language=it|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415181308/http://demo.istat.it/pop2009/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> These same subdivisions are at the bottom of the Italian [[First level NUTS of the European Union]] and the Italian constituencies for the [[European Parliament]]. Nonetheless, Sardinia and especially Sicily are included as "southern Italy" in most definitions of the southern Italy macroregion. 

==Etymology of <i lang="it">Mezzogiorno</i>==
In a similar fashion to [[France]]'s {{lang|fr|[[southern France|Midi]]}} ("midday" or "noon" in [[French language|French]]), the Italian term "{{lang|it|Mezzogiorno}}" refers to the intensity and the position of sunshine at midday in the south of the [[Italian peninsula]].<ref name="eb">{{cite web|title=Mezzogiorno|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mezzogiorno|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref>

The term came into vogue after the annexation of the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] by the mainland-based [[House of Savoy|Savoyard]] [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]], and the subsequent [[Italian unification]] of 1861.

==Regions==
{{Further|Regions of Italy}}
Southern Italy is generally thought to comprise the administrative regions that correspond to the geopolitical extent of the historical [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], including [[Abruzzo]], [[Apulia]], [[Basilicata]], [[Calabria]], [[Campania]], [[Molise]], and [[Sicily]]. The island of Sardinia, although being [[Sardinia#Culture|culturally]], [[Sardinia#Languages|linguistically]] and [[History of Sardinia|historically]] less related to the aforementioned regions than any of them is to one another is frequently included as part of the {{lang|it|Mezzogiorno}},<ref name="istat" /><ref name="medtour"/> often for statistical and economical purposes.<ref name="hospers">{{cite book|last1=Hospers|first1=Gert J.|title=Regional Economic Change in Europe|date=2004|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-JGUDYUvdosC&q=sardinia+southern+italy+mezzogiorno&pg=PA97|isbn=9783825881771}}</ref><ref name="medtour">{{cite book|last1=Apostolopoulos|first1=Yorgos|last2=Leontidou|first2=Lila|last3=Loukissas|first3=Philippos|title=Mediterranean Tourism: Facets of Socioeconomic Development and Cultural Change|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDTKAgAAQBAJ&q=sardinia+mezzogiorno&pg=PA52|isbn=9781317798385}}</ref><ref name="natgeo">{{cite book|last1=Jepson|first1=Tim|last2=Soriano|first2=Tino|title=National Geographic Traveler: Naples and Southern Italy|date=2011|publisher=National Geographic Books|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ds-7ZMz7yCUC&q=southern+italy|access-date=23 July 2016|isbn=9781426207105}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Further|Geography of Italy}}
[[File:Corno grande da campo imperatore.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gran Sasso d'Italia]] in Abruzzo, the highest peak in the [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] and the second-highest in Italy outside the [[Alps]]]]

Southern Italy forms the lower part of the Italian "boot," comprising the ankle ([[Campania]]), the toe ([[Calabria]]), the arch ([[Basilicata]]), and the heel ([[Apulia]]), as well as [[Molise]] (north of Apulia) and [[Abruzzo]] (north of Molise). It also includes Sicily, which is separated from Calabria by the narrow [[Strait of Messina]]. The [[Gulf of Taranto]]—an arm of the [[Ionian Sea]]—lies between the heel and toe of the "boot" and is named after the city of [[Taranto]], situated at the angle between them. The island of [[Sardinia]], located west of the Italian peninsula and just south of the French island of [[Corsica]], is also often included in Southern Italy.

The eastern coast is bordered by the [[Adriatic Sea]], which connects to the wider [[Mediterranean]] via the [[Strait of Otranto]], named after the largest city on the tip of the heel. On the Adriatic, just south of the "spur" of the boot, lies the [[Apulia Carbonate Platform|Monte Gargano peninsula]]. On the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], the Gulfs of [[Gulf of Salerno|Salerno]], [[Gulf of Naples|Naples]], [[Gulf of Policastro|Policastro]], and [[Gulf of Gaeta|Gaeta]] are each named after major coastal cities. Along the northern coast of the Gulf of Salerno and the southern edge of the [[Sorrento Peninsula|Sorrentine Peninsula]] runs the [[Amalfi Coast]]; off the peninsula's tip is the island of [[Capri]].

The region's climate is predominantly [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen classification]] [[Mediterranean climate#Hot-summer Mediterranean climate|Csa]]), except at higher elevations (Dsa, Dsb) and in the [[semi-arid]] eastern areas of Apulia and Molise, as well as along the Ionian coast of [[Calabria]] and in southern Sicily (BSw). [[Naples]] is the largest city in Southern Italy, retaining its ancient Greek name for millennia. Other major cities include [[Bari]], [[Taranto]], [[Reggio Calabria]], [[Foggia]], and [[Salerno]].

Southern Italy is geologically active and highly seismic, with the exception of the [[Salento]] area in [[Apulia]]. The [[1980 Irpinia earthquake]], for example, resulted in 2,914 deaths, over 10,000 injuries, and left 300,000 people homeless.

[[File:ETH-BIB-Wanderung der Erdbeben-Centren in Süd-Italien, in. F.O. Mori-Dia 247-Z-00059.tif|thumb|right|Chronological map of the main seismic events in Southern Italy during the modern and contemporary periods]]
==History==
{{Main|History of Italy}}

===Prehistory and antiquity===
{{See also|Magna Graecia}}
In the 8th and the 7th centuries&nbsp;BCE, for various reasons, including demographic crisis (famine, overcrowding etc.), the search for new commercial outlets and ports, and expulsion from their homeland, [[Greeks]] began to settle in southern Italy.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Greek cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily|last1=Cerchiai|first1=Lucia|last2=Jannelli|first2=Lorena|last3=Longo|first3=Fausto|publisher=Getty Trust Publications|year=2004|isbn=0-89236-751-2|location=Los Angeles|pages=14–18}}</ref> Also during this period, Greek colonies were established in places as widely separated as the eastern coast of the [[Black Sea]], [[Cyrenaica|Eastern Libya]] and Massalia ([[Marseille]]). 
[[File:Agrigento-Tempio della Concordia01.JPG|thumb|left|The Greek [[Temple of Concordia, Agrigento|Temple of Concordia]], [[Valle dei Templi]], [[Agrigento]], Sicily]]

They included settlements in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. The first Greek settlers found Italy inhabited by three major populations: [[Ausones]], [[Oenotrians]] and [[Iapyges]] (the last of which were subdivided into three tribes: [[Daunians]], [[Peucetians]] and [[Messapians]]). The relationships between the Greek settlers and the native peoples were initially hostilem especially with the Iapygian tribes. The Hellenic influence eventually shaped their culture and way of life.
[[File:Magna Graecia ancient colonies and dialects-en.svg|thumb|right|Ancient Greek colonies of [[Magna Graecia]] and their [[:w:Ancient Greek dialects|dialect]] groupings in southern Italy<ref>{{Cite book
 | author = Roger D. Woodard
 | title = "Greek dialects", in: The Ancient Languages of Europe
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | year = 2008
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00roge/page/51 51]
 | isbn = 978-0-521-68495-8
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00roge/page/51
 }}</ref>
{{legend|#cea980|[[Doric Greek#Northwest Doric|Northwest Doric]]}}
{{legend|#b5ad96|[[Doric Greek#Achaean Doric|Achaean Doric]]}}
{{legend|#eacd85|[[Doric Greek#Doric proper|Doric proper]]}}
{{legend|#bebada|[[Ionic Greek|Ionic]]}}]]

The Romans used to call the area of Sicily and coastal southern Italy [[Magna Graecia]] ("Great Greece") since it was so densely populated by coastal [[Greek colonisation|Greek colonies]]; the ancient [[geographers]] differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]] with [[Strabo]] being the most prominent advocate of the wider definitions.

With this colonisation, [[Greek culture]] was exported to Italy in its dialects of the [[Ancient Greek language]], its religious rites and its traditions of the independent ''[[polis]]''. An original [[Hellenic civilization]] soon developed, later interacting with the native [[Italic languages|Italic]] and [[Roman civilisations]]. The most important cultural transplant was the [[Chalcis|Chalcidean]]/[[Cumaean alphabet|Cumaean]] variety of the [[Greek alphabet]], which was adopted by the [[Etruscans]]; the [[Old Italic alphabet]] subsequently evolved into the [[Latin alphabet]], which became the most widely used alphabet in the world.

Many of the new Hellenic cities became very rich and powerful like ''Neapolis'' (Νεάπολις, [[Naples]], "New City"), ''Syrakousai'' (Συράκουσαι, [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]]), ''Akragas'' (Ἀκράγας, [[Agrigento]]), and ''[[Sybaris]]'' (Σύβαρις, [[Sibari]]). Other cities in Magna Graecia included ''[[Taranto|Tarentum]]'' (Τάρας), ''[[Metapontum]]'' (Μεταπόντιον), ''[[Heraclea Lucania|Heraclea]]'' (Ἡράκλεια), ''[[Locri|Epizephyrian Locri]]'' (Λοκροὶ Ἐπιζεφύριοι), ''[[Rhegion|Rhegium]]'' (Ῥήγιον), ''[[Crotone|Croton]]'' (Κρότων), ''[[Thurii]]'' (Θούριοι), ''[[Velia|Elea]]'' (Ἐλέα), ''[[Nola]]'' (Νῶλα), ''[[Sessa Cilento|Syessa]]'' (Σύεσσα), ''[[Bari]]'' (Βάριον), and others.

Although many of the Greek inhabitants of Magna Graecia were entirely [[romanization (cultural)|Latinized]] during the [[Middle Ages]],<ref name="unina">{{cite web|url=http://wpage.unina.it/sornicol/Articoli/MultilinguismoSiciliaNapoliMedioevo-BLC.pdf|title=Multilinguismo in Sicilia ea Napoli nel primo Medioevo|access-date=15 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> pockets of Greek culture and language remained and have survived to the present day. One example is the [[Griko people]] in [[Calabria]] ([[Bovesia]]) and [[Salento]] ([[Grecìa Salentina]]), some of whom still maintain their Greek language ([[Griko language]]) and customs.<ref name="affariregionali">{{cite web|url=
https://www.affariregionali.it/media/170802/13-carmelo-giuseppe-nucera-intervento-sulle-minoranze.pdf|title=Per la difesa e la valorizzazione della Lingua e Cultura Greco-Calabra|access-date=15 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> The Griko language is the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed Magna Graecia.<ref name="itinerarieluoghi">{{cite web|url=
https://www.itinerarieluoghi.it/una-lingua-unidentita-alla-scoperta-del-griko-salentino/|title=Una lingua, un'identità: alla scoperta del griko salentino|date=25 May 2020 |access-date=15 July 2023|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Shepherd-c-030-031.jpg|thumb|Southern Italy under [[Augustus]]]]

After [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] failed in his attempt to stop the spread of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] hegemony in 282 BCE, the south fell under Roman domination and remained in such a position until the [[Migration Period|barbarian invasions]] (the [[Gladiator War]] is a notable suspension of [[Roman Empire|imperial]] control). It was restored to [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman]] control in the 530s after the [[Decline of the Roman Empire|fall of Rome]] in [[Western Roman Empire|the West]] in 476, and some form of imperial authority survived until the 1070s. Total East Roman rule was ended by the [[Lombards]] by [[Zotto]]'s conquest in the final quarter of the 6th century.

===Middle Ages===
{{See also|Emirate of Sicily|Norman conquest of southern Italy|Kingdom of Sicily|Kingdom of Naples}}
[[File:Kingdom of Sicily 1200.png|thumb|right|Detailed map of the Kingdom of Sicily]]
[[File:Regnonormanno1160.jpg|thumb|right|The Kingdom of Sicily at its greatest extent, during the 12th century]]

After the [[Gothic War (535–554)]] until the arrival of the [[Normans]], much of southern Italy's destiny was linked to the fortunes of the [[Eastern Empire]] even though Byzantine domination was challenged in the 9th century by the [[Lombards]], who annexed the area of [[Cosenza]] to their [[Duchy of Benevento]]. Consequently, the Lombard and the Byzantine areas became influenced by Eastern monasticism, and much of southern Italy experienced a slow process of orientalisation in religious life (rites, cults and liturgy), which accompanied a spread of Eastern churches and monasteries that preserved and transmitted the Greek and Hellenistic tradition. The [[Cattolica di Stilo|Cattolica monastery]] in Stilo is the most representative of these Byzantine monuments. From then to the 11th-century [[Normans|Norman]] conquest the south of the peninsula was constantly plunged into wars between the Byzantines, Lombardy, and the [[Aghlabid dynasty]]. The latter established two [[History of Islam in southern Italy|emirates in southern Italy]]: the [[Emirate of Sicily]] and, for 25 years, the [[Emirate of Bari]]. [[Amalfi]], an independent republic from the 7th century until 1075, and to a lesser extent [[Gaeta]], [[Molfetta]] and [[Trani, Apulia|Trani]], rivalled other [[maritime republics|Italian maritime republics]] in their domestic prosperity and maritime importance.

[[File:Southern Italy 1112.svg|thumb|180px|left|Southern Italy in 1112]]
From 999 to 1139, the [[Normans]] [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|occupied all the Lombard and Byzantine possessions in southern Italy]], ended a millennium of imperial Roman rule in Italy and eventually expelled the Muslims from Sicily. The Norman [[Kingdom of Sicily]] under [[Roger II]] was characterised by its competent governance, [[multi-ethnic]] nature and [[religious tolerance]]. Normans, Jews, Muslim Arabs, Byzantine Greeks, Lombards and "native" Sicilians lived in relative harmony.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art171.htm|title=Sicilian Peoples: The Normans – Best of Sicily Magazine – Normans in Sicilian History|website=www.bestofsicily.com}}</ref> However, the Norman domination lasted only several decades before it formally ended in 1198 with the reign of [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance of Sicily]], and was replaced by that of the [[Swabia]]n [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty, thanks to Constance's marriage to [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], member of this family.

[[File:Castel del Monte - Andria.jpg|thumb|right|[[Castel del Monte, Apulia|Castel del Monte]], built by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] between 1240 and 1250 in [[Andria]], Apulia]]

In Sicily, [[Kings of Sicily|King]] [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] endorsed a deep reform of the laws culminating with the promulgation of the [[Constitutions of Melfi]] (1231, also known as ''[[Liber Augustalis]]''), a collection of laws for his realm that was remarkable for its time and a source of inspiration for a long time afterward.<ref>{{Cite book| author = Georgina Masson| title = Frederick II of Hohenstaufen: a life| publisher = Octagon Books| year= 1973| location = London| page = 156| isbn = 0-374-95297-3| author-link = Georgina Masson}}</ref> It made the Kingdom of Sicily a [[centralized government|centralised state]] and established the primacy of [[written law]]. With relatively small modifications, the'' Liber Augustalis'' remained the basis of Sicilian law until 1819. His royal court in [[Palermo]] from around 1220 to his death saw the first use of a literary form of an [[Italo-Romance]] language, [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], which had a significant influence on what was to become the modern [[Italian language]]. He also built the [[Castel del Monte (Apulia)|Castel del Monte]] and in 1224 founded the [[University of Naples]], now called, after him, [[Università Federico II|Università Federico&nbsp;II]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Hunt Janin |title=The University in Medieval Life, 1179–1499 |year=2008 |page=132 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-3462-6}}</ref>

In 1266, conflict between the [[House of Hohenstaufen]] and the [[papacy]] led to Sicily's conquest by [[Charles I of Sicily|Charles&nbsp;I]], Duke of [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]]. Opposition to French officialdom and taxation combined with incitement of rebellion by agents from the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the [[Crown of Aragon]] led to the [[Sicilian Vespers]] insurrection and successful invasion by king [[Peter III of Aragon]] in 1282. The resulting [[War of the Sicilian Vespers]] lasted until 1302 the [[Peace of Caltabellotta]] divided the old Kingdom of Sicily into two.

The island of Sicily, called the "Kingdom of Sicily beyond the Lighthouse" or the Kingdom of Trinacria, went to [[Frederick III of Sicily|Frederick&nbsp;III]] of the [[House of Barcelona]], who had been ruling it. The peninsular territories, called Kingdom of Sicily contemporaneously but [[Kingdom of Naples]] by modern scholarship, went to [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II]] of the [[Capetian House of Anjou|House of Anjou]], who had likewise been ruling it. Thus, the peace was formal recognition of an uneasy ''status quo''.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite book|author = Sir Steven Runciman |title = The Sicilian Vespers: a history of the Mediterranean world in the later thirteenth century |url = https://archive.org/details/sicilianvesperst00runc |url-access = registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/sicilianvesperst00runc/page/274 274] |year = 1958 |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn = 0-521-43774-1}}</ref> Although the king of Spain had seized both two crowns in the 16th century, the administrations of the two halves of the Kingdom of Sicily remained separated until 1816, when they were reunited in the [[Kingdom of Two Sicilies]].
[[File:Kingdom of Sicily 1154.svg|thumb|The [[Kingdom of Sicily]] in 1154]]

===Early modern history===
{{See also|Italian Wars|War of Spanish Succession}}
In 1442, [[Alfonso V of Aragon|Alfonso V]] conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of the [[Crown of Aragon]]. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again divided . [[Ferdinand I of Naples|Ferrante]], Alfonso's illegitimate son, inherited Naples. When Ferrante died in 1494, [[Charles VIII of France]] invaded Italy by using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples, which his father had inherited on the death of King René's nephew in 1481, as a pretext, which started the [[Italian Wars]]. Charles VIII expelled Ferrante's successor, [[Alfonso II of Naples]], from Naples in 1495. However, he was soon forced to withdraw because of the support of [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] to his cousin, Alfonso II's son [[Ferdinand II of Naples|Ferrantino]].

Ferrantino was restored to the throne but died in 1496 and was succeeded by his uncle, [[Frederick IV of Naples|Frederick IV]]. The French, however, did not give up their claim and, in 1501, agreed to a partition of the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin, King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and the Crown of Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, ultimately resulting in an Aragonese victory leaving Ferdinand in control of the kingdom by 1504.

The kingdom remained disputed between France and Spain for the next several decades. The French efforts to gain control of it became feebler as the decades went on, and Spanish control was never genuinely endangered. The French finally abandoned their claims to the kingdom by the [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]] in 1559. With the Treaty of London (1557), the new [[client state]] of [[State of the Presidi|the so-called ''Presidi'']] ("state of the garrisons") was established and governed directly by Spain as part of the Kingdom of Naples.

[[File:Municip.jpg|thumb|right|[[Castel Nuovo]], [[Naples]]: initiated by the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Anjou]], it was heavily altered as it served as [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] headquarters until the 18th century.]]

The administration of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, as well as of the [[Duchy of Milan]], was run by the [[Council of Italy]]. The island of Sardinia, which had fully come to be under Iberian sovereignty in 1409 upon the fall of the last [[Judicate of Arborea|indigenous state]], was an integral part of the [[Council of Aragon]] instead and remained as such until the first years of the XVIII° century, when Sardinia was ceded to Austria and eventually handed over to the [[Alps|Alpine]]-based [[House of Savoy]] in 1720.

After the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] in the early 18th century, possession of the kingdom again changed hands. Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713, [[Naples]] was given to [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles&nbsp;VI]], the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]. He also gained control of [[Sicily]] in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long. Both Naples and Sicily were [[Battle of Bitonto|conquered]] by a Spanish army during the [[War of the Polish Succession]] in 1734, and [[Charles III of Spain|Charles, Duke of Parma]], a younger son of King [[Philip&nbsp;V of Spain]] was installed as King of Naples and Sicily from 1735. Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand&nbsp;IV]]. Despite the two kingdoms being in a [[personal union]] under the [[House of Bourbon]] from 1735 onwards, they remained constitutionally separated.

===Early 19th century===
{{See also|Kingdom of Two Sicilies}}
[[File:Koenigreich beider Sizilien.jpg|thumb|right|A 19th century map of the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]]]
Being a member of the [[House of Bourbon]], King [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand&nbsp;IV]] was a natural opponent of the [[French Revolution]] and [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]. In January 1799, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], in the name of the [[French First Republic|French Republic]], captured Naples and proclaimed the [[Parthenopaean Republic]], a French client state, as successor to the kingdom. [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|King Ferdinand]] fled from Naples to Sicily until June of that year. In 1806, Bonaparte, by then French Emperor, again dethroned King Ferdinand and appointed his brother, [[Joseph Bonaparte]], as King of Naples. In the Edict of Bayonne of 1808, Napoleon removed Joseph to Spain and appointed his brother-in-law, [[Joachim Murat]], as King of the Two Sicilies, though this meant control only of the mainland portion of the kingdom.<ref name="colletta">{{Cite book|last=Colletta |first=Pietro |title=History of the Kingdom of Naples (1858)|publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://archive.org/details/historykingdomn04collgoog|quote=Edict of Bayonne. |year=1858 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tolentino815.it/paginaeng2949.aspx|publisher=Tolentino815.it|title=The Battle of Tolentino, Joachim Murat|date=7 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201080647/http://www.tolentino815.it/paginaeng2949.aspx|archive-date=1 February 2008}}</ref> Throughout this Napoleonic interruption, King Ferdinand remained in Sicily, with [[Palermo]] as his capital.

After Napoleon's defeat, King Ferdinand&nbsp;IV was restored by the [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1815 as Ferdinand&nbsp;I of the [[Two Sicilies]]. He established a [[concordat]] with the [[Papal States]], which previously had a claim to the land.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blanch |first=L |title=Luigi de' Medici come uomo di stato e amministratore |publisher=Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane |url=http://www.murat.it/Libri/Bibliogafia%20della%20Valente.htm |access-date=2011-04-21 |archive-date=2008-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024094834/http://www.murat.it/Libri/Bibliogafia%20della%20Valente.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> There were several rebellions on the island of [[Sicily]] against the King [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand II]], but the end of the kingdom was not brought about until the [[Expedition of the Thousand]] in 1860, led by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], an icon of Italian Unification, with the support of the [[House of Savoy]] and its [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] with its economic, political and cultural powerhouse in Northern Italy. The expedition resulted in a striking series of defeats for the Sicilian armies against the growing troops of Garibaldi. After the capture of Palermo and Sicily, he disembarked in Calabria and moved towards Naples, and in the meantimem the Piedmontese also invaded the Kingdom from the [[Marche]]. The last battles fought were [[battle of Volturnus (1860)|that of the Volturnus in 1860]] and the [[siege of Gaeta (1860)|siege of Gaeta]], where King [[Francis II of the Two Sicilies|Francis II]] had sought shelter in thepe of for help, which never came.

The last towns to resist Garibaldi's expedition were [[Messina]], which surrendered on 13 March 1861, and [[Civitella del Tronto]], which surrendered on 20 March 1861. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was dissolved and annexed to the new [[Kingdom of Italy]], which was founded in the same year.

===Southern and Northern Italy in 1860===
{{See also|Expedition of the Thousand|Italian unification#Defeat of the Kingdom of Naples|l2=Defeat of the Kingdom of Naples|Post-Unification Italian Brigandage}}
At the time of Italian unification, the gap between the former northern states of [[Italy]] and the southern two Sicilies was significant: northern Italy had about 75,500 kilometers of roads and 2,316 kilometers of railroads, combined with a wide range of canals connected to rivers for freight transportation; iron and steel production was 17,000 tons per year. By contrast, in the former Bourbon southern state, there were 14,700 kilometers of roads, 184 kilometers of railroads (only around Naples), no canals connected to rivers and iron and steel production was 1,500 tons per year.
[[File:1853 Mitchell Map of Southern Italy ( Naples, Sicily ) - Geographicus - ItalySouth-mitchell-1850.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Bourbon-led [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] from 1853, seven years before the annexation by the House of Savoy]]
In 1860, illiteracy rates on the Italian peninsula averaged 75%, with the lowest level of 54% in the northwestern [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] (also known as "[[Piedmont]]") and the highest in the south, and illiteracy in the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] reached 87%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aspeninstitute.it/system/files/private_files/2011-07/doc/UNIFICAZIONE_ITALIANA_SEZIONE_4_F_P.pdf|title=The Italian Unification (L'Unificazione Italiana)- Treccani with contribution of Aspen Italy – Section IV – pages 417–418 illiteracy, p. 419 iron/steel, p. 420 roads and channels, p. 421 railroads)}}</ref>

In 1860, the southern merchant navy amounted to 260,000 tons, and the northern merchant navy came to 347,000 tons, apart from the Venetian Navy, which was annexed in 1866 and assessed at 46,000 tons. In 1860 the whole Italian merchant navy was the fourth largest in Europe at about 607,000 tons.<ref>National unification and economic development in Italy 1750–1913 (Unità nazionale e sviluppo economico in Italia 1750–1913) by Guido Pescosolido pages 95,133 – Italian edition {{ISBN|9788868124229}}</ref>

The southern merchant navy was made up of sailing vessels mainly for fishing and coastal shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and had very few steamships, even if one of the first steamers was built and fitted out in Naples in 1818. Both the merchant and the military navies were insufficient compared to the great coastal extent of southern Italy, defined by the Italian historian Raffaele De Cesare: "… a great pier towards the south".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/lafinediunregnon01deceiala|title=La fine di un regno (Napoli e Sicilia)|first=Raffaele|last=De Cesare|date=6 July 1900|publisher=Città di Castello, S. Lapi|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

In the article "This is Not Italy! Ruling and Representing the South", it is clear how the northern elites considered the south. The Piedmontese north felt the need to invade the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and establish a new form of governance based on the northern system, since they viewed the south as underdeveloped and lacking in social capital. Those views of the south can largely be attributed to the letters of correspondents in southern Italy who sent biased letters to leaders of the north, specifically [[Camillo Benso]], urging the invasion and reformation of the south. Although those views of the south were condescending, they also came with a genuine belief that to create a unified Italy, help from the north was necessary. Viewing southern Italy as barbaric served as a sort of justification to allow the "civilized, Piedmontese north" (167) to intervene. Another viewm however, was marked by disdain for southern Italy. According to the article, "such manifestations of the south's difference threaten the glowing and gloating sense of northern superiority" (167). These viewpoints clearly indicate the divide between northern and southern Italy in the 1860s.<ref>"This Is Not Italy!" ''Ruling and Representing the South, 1860–1861''</ref>

In an attempt to explain the striking difference between the annexed territory of the former Two Sicilies and the economic and political powerhouse centred in the north, [[racism in Italy|racist theories were postulated]], suggesting that such a divide had its roots in the coexistence of two mostly incompatible races.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alfredo Niceforo|title=Italiani del nord e Italiani del sud|year=1901|publisher=[[Fratelli Bocca]]}}</ref>

The British historian [[Denis Mack Smith]] describes the radical difference between Northern and the newly-annexed southern Italy in 1860 as both halves being on quite different levels of civilization. He pointed out that the Bourbons in the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] were staunch supporters of a feudal system, had feared the traffic of ideas and had tried to keep their subjects insulated from the agricultural and industrial revolutions of Northern Europe.<ref>[[Denis Mack Smith]] (1998). ''Modern Italy: A Political History.'' University of Michigan Press. {{ISBN|0472108956}}, p. 3.</ref>

The study by Mack Smith is confirmed by the Italian historian and left-wing politician [[Antonio Gramsci]] in his book ''The Southern Question'' by which the author emphasizes the "absolutely antithetical conditions" of northern and southern Italy at the time of Italian unification in 1861, when south and north were united again after more than one thousand years. Gramsci remarked that in Northern Italy, the historical period of the [[Italian city-states|Comunes]] had given a special boost to history and in [[northern Italy]] existed an economic organization similar to that of the other states of Europe, propitious to further development of [[capitalism]] and [[Industrial sector|industry]], but in southern Italy, history had been different, and the paternalist Bourbon administrations produced nothing of value. The bourgeois class did not exist, agriculture was primitive and insufficient to satisfy the local market, there were no roads, no ports and the few waterways that the region had were not exploited because of the region's special geographical features.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/AntonioGramsciLaQuestioneMeridionale/Antonio+Gramsci+-+La+questione+meridionale#page/n3/mode/2up|title=Antonio Gramsci La Questione Meridionale|website=archive.org}}</ref>[[File:Banda del Brigante Totaro di San Fele.jpg|thumb|A band of [[Post-Unification Italian Brigandage|southern Italian ''briganti'']] ("brigands") from [[Basilicata]], {{Circa|1860}}]]

The living conditions of the people of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies are also illustrated by Raffaele De Cesare,<ref>Raffaele De Cesare (1845–1918), Southern Italian historian and politician</ref> who reported that the King of Naples [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand II]] had no interest in doing useful works to improve the neglected condition of public hygiene, particularly in the provinces, where scarcity of sewer systems and often water shortages were known issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/lafinediunregnon02deceiala|title=La fine di un regno (Napoli e Sicilia)|first=Raffaele|last=De Cesare|date=6 July 1900|publisher=Città di Castello, S. Lapi|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The problem of brigandage is explained in the book ''Heroes and Brigands'' by the southern Italian historian and politician [[Francesco Saverio Nitti]], outlining that brigandage was endemic in southern Italy, since the Bourbons themselves relied on it as their military agent.<ref>Heroes and brigands (Eroi e briganti) by Francesco Saverio Nitti – (edition 1899) – Osanna Edizioni 2015 – {{ISBN|9788881674695}} – page 33</ref>
Unlike in southern Italy, there was little brigandage in the other annexed states of Northern and Central Italy, like the [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]], the [[Duchy of Parma and Piacenza|Duchy of Parma]], the [[Duchy of Modena and Reggio|Duchy of Modena]], the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] and the [[Papal States]].

According to the southern Italian historian [[Giustino Fortunato]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/ilmezzogiornoelo02fortuoft|title=Il Mezzogiorno e lo stato italiano; discorsi politici (1880–1910)|first=Giustino|last=Fortunato|date=6 July 1911|publisher=Bari G. Laterza|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and the Italian institutional sources<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.150anni.it/webi/index.php?s=37&wid=103|title=La Scuola per i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia – Il problema del Mezzogiorno – Il divario di partenza|website=www.150anni.it}}</ref> the problems of southern Italy had existed way before Italian unification, and Giustino Fortunato emphasised that the Bourbons were not the only ones responsible for the problems of the south, which had ancient and deep origins in the previous centuries of poverty and isolation, caused by domination by foreign governments.

In literature, the period around 1860 was depicted by the Sicilian writer [[Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa]] in his famous novel ''Il Gattopardo'' (''[[The Leopard]]''), set in [[Sicily]] at the time of Italian unification. In a famous final scene, Prince Salina, when invited to join the senate of unified Italy, tells a high-ranking Piedmontese officer that "the Sicilian will never want to change, because the Sicilian feels perfect...". With theoe and other words, the author underscored the Sicilians' problems of having to change their old lifestyle and remaining on their island. The novel was adapted by [[Luchino Visconti]] for his homonymous 1963 film ''[[The Leopard (1963 film)|The Leopard]]''.

===After 1861===
{{See also|Meridionalism}}
The southern economy greatly suffered after the Italian unification, and the process of industrialisation was interrupted. This situation of persistent backwardness in the socioeconomic development of the regions of southern Italy compared to the other regions of the country, especially the northern ones, is known as the [[southern question]]. Poverty and [[Organized crime|organised crime]] were long-standing issues in southern Italy as well and it got worse after unification. Cavour stated the basic problem was poor government, and believed the solution lay in the strict application of the Piedmontese legal system. The main result was an upsurge in [[Post-Unification Italian Brigandage|brigandage]].<ref>Roland Sarti, ''Italy: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present'' (2004) pp 567–8</ref>

Therefore, the south experienced great economic difficulties resulting in massive emigration leading to a worldwide [[Italian diaspora]], especially to [[North America]], [[South America]], [[Australia]] and other parts of Europe. Many natives also relocated to the industrial cities in northern Italy, such as [[Genoa]], [[Milan]] and [[Turin]]. A relative process of industrialisation has developed in some areas of the "Mezzogiorno" after the [[Second World War]]. In the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|1946 referendum]], the region voted to keep the monarchy, with its greatest support coming in [[Campania]]. Politically, the region was at odds with the north, which won the referendum to establish a republic.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/berlusconi-survivor.html |title= Berlusconi the Survivor |first= Renard |last= Sexton |work= [[FiveThirtyEight.com]] |date= 15 December 2009 |access-date= 16 December 2009 |archive-date= 5 December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131205090622/http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/12/berlusconi-survivor.html |url-status= dead }}</ref>

Today, the south remains less economically developed than the northern and central regions, which enjoyed an "[[Italian economic miracle|economic miracle]]" in the 1950s and the 1960s and became highly industrialized.

== Demography ==
===Population===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:97%; margin-right:10px;"
|+Most populous urban areas in southern Italy
|-
! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Rank
! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|City
! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Region
! style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|Population 
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|1||align=left|'''[[Naples]]'''||[[Campania]]||955,503
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|2||align=left|'''[[Palermo]]'''||[[Sicily]]||659,894
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|3||align=left|'''[[Bari]]'''||[[Apulia]]||319,482
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|4||align=left|'''[[Catania]]'''||[[Sicily]]||311,777
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|5||align=left|'''[[Messina]]'''||[[Sicily]]||231,708
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|6||align=left|'''[[Taranto]]'''||[[Apulia]]||195,279
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|7||align=left|'''[[Reggio Calabria]]'''||[[Calabria]]||179,049
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|8||align=left|'''[[Cagliari]]'''||[[Sardinia]]||154,108
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|9||align=left|'''[[Foggia]]'''||[[Apulia]]||150,185
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|10||align=left|'''[[Salerno]]'''||[[Campania]]||132,640
|-
| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; background:#f5f5f5;"|<small>Sources: 2019 Demo Istat<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2019gen/index.html|title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT|website=demo.istat.it|access-date=2020-02-17|archive-date=2019-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724140744/http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2019gen/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref></small>
|}
{{clear}}{{Historical populations|1861|9632000|1871|10209000|1881|11030000|1901|12661000|1911|13500000|1921|14449000|1931|14688000|1936|15277000|1951|17685424|1961|18576001|1971|18874266|1981|20053334|1991|20537484|2001|20515736|2011|20619697|2021|19932825|type=|align=right|widths=50px|heights=50px|footnote=Source: [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|ISTAT]]}}

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Italy#Southern question|l1=Italy's North–South economic divide}}
[[File:65393-Mafia Italian 2010ean.svg|thumbnail|Map of the southern Italian criminal syndicates]]

Starting from the unification of Italy in 1861–1870, a growing economic divide between the Northern provinces and the southern half of Italy became evident.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mignone|first=Mario B.|title=Italy today: Facing the Challenges of the New Millennium|year=2008|publisher=Lang Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4331-0187-8|page=181}}</ref> In the early decades of the new kingdom, the lack of effective land reform, heavy taxes, and other economic measures imposed on the south, along with the removal of protectionist tariffs on agricultural goods imposed to boost northern industry, made the situation nearly impossible for many tenant farmers, small businesses and land owners. Multitudes chose to emigrate rather than try to eke out a meagre living, especially from 1892 to 1921.<ref>Denis Mack Smith (1997). ''Modern Italy; A Political History''. Ann Arbor: [[University of Michigan|The University of Michigan]] Press. {{ISBN|978-0-472-10895-4}}, pp. 209–210</ref> In addition, the surge of [[Post-Unification Italian Brigandage|brigandage]] and [[Organized crime in Italy|mafia]] provoked widespread violence, corruption and illegality. Prime Minister [[Giovanni Giolitti]] once conceded that places existed "where the law does not operate at all".<ref>(Smith (1997), pp. 199.)</ref>

After the rise of [[Benito Mussolini]], the "Iron Prefect", [[Cesare Mori]], tried to defeat the powerful criminal organizations flowering in the south with some degree of success. However, when connections between mafia and the fascists emerged, Mori was removed, and fascist propaganda declared the mafia defeated.<ref>{{cite book|last=Newark|first=Tim|title=Mafia Allies: The True Story of America's Secret Alliance with the Mob in World War&nbsp;II|year=2007|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|location=London|isbn=978-0-7603-2457-8|pages=47–48}}</ref> Economically, Fascist policy aimed at the creation of an [[Italian Empire]] and southern Italian ports were strategic for all commerce towards the colonies. Naples enjoyed a demographic and economic rebirth, mainly due to the interest of King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]], who was born there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Emmanuel-III|title=Victor Emmanuel III &#124; king of Italy|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=12 May 2023 }}</ref>

In the 1950s, the [[Cassa per il Mezzogiorno]] was set up as a huge public master plan to help industrialise the south by land reforms creating 120,000 new small farms and by the "Growth Pole Strategy" whereby 60% of all government investment would go to the south to boost the southern economy by attracting new capital, stimulating local firms, and providing employment. However, the objectives were largely missed, and the south became increasingly subsidised, dependent on the state and incapable of generating private growth itself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Naples-Italy|title=Naples &#124; History & Points of Interest|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=9 June 2023 }}</ref> Presently, huge regional disparities still persist. Problems still include pervasive organised crime and very high unemployment rates.

Southern Italy's lack of progress in bettering the area has had it record numbers of emigration. The most prevalent issue in southern Italy is its inability to attract businesses and therefore create jobs. Between 2007 and 2014, 943,000 Italians were unemployed, 70% being Italians from the south.<ref name="economist.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2015/05/16/a-tale-of-two-economies|title=A tale of two economies|date=16 May 2015|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> Employment in the south is ranked the lowest when compared to countries in the European Union.<ref name="economist.com"/> Italians from the south are also ranked the lowest in terms of financial contributions into the economy of Italy from immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.italiamerica.org/id49.htm|title=Southern Italian Immigration|website=www.italiamerica.org}}</ref> In southern Italy, the tourism, distribution, food industries, wood furniture, wholesale, vehicle sales, mineral sales and artisan fields are among the leading areas contributing to the projected employment growth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seeitalia.com/essentials/employment/|title=Employment in Italy - Italy Employment - Jobs in Italy - seeitalia.com|website=www.seeitalia.com}}</ref> The south heavily relies on tourism in for its economy and attracts tourists through its rich historical background.

A report published in July 2015 by the Italian organization ''SVIMEZ'' shows that southern Italy had a negative GDP growth in the previous seven years and that from 2000, it has been growing half as much as Greece.<ref>{{cite web | title=Italy's south "much worse than Greece," economic think tank reports | url=http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/italys-south-much-worse-than-greece-economic-think-tank-reports_405140.html}}</ref> In 2016, southern Italy's GDP and economy was growing twice as much as northern Italy's.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/economia/2017/07/28/sud-nel-2016-cresce-piu-del-nord-che-nel-2017-recupera-_fd0c494a-416b-4633-8de5-61382493a495.html|title=Sud nel 2016 cresce più del Nord, che nel 2017 recupera – Economia|date=28 July 2017|website=ANSA.it}}</ref> According to [[Eurostat]] figures published in 2019, southern Italy is the European area with the lowest percentages of employment: in Apulia, Sicily, Campania and Calabria, less than 50% of the people aged between 20 and 64 had a job in 2018. That is largely due to the low participation of women in the workforce, as slightly more than 30% of the women are employed, compared to a national and European average of 53.1% and 67.4%, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/06/22/occupazione-nel-sud-italia-4-delle-cinque-regioni-europee-con-il-tasso-piu-basso/5274588/|title=Occupazione, nel Sud Italia 4 delle cinque regioni europee con il tasso più basso|date=22 June 2019|website=Il Fatto Quotidiano|language=it|access-date=3 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.openpolis.it/numeri/occupazione-femminile-sotto-al-50-in-tutte-le-regioni-del-sud-italia/|title=Occupazione femminile sotto al 50% in tutte le regioni del sud Italia|publisher=Openpolis}}</ref>

In southern Italy, which contains eight [[Regional policy of the European Union|cohesion]] areas ([[Sicily]], [[Calabria]], [[Campania]], [[Molise]], [[Apulia|Puglia]], [[Abruzzo]] and [[Basilicata]]), a [[public–private partnership]] known as SMEI Italy serves as a catalyst for private investment and supports economic growth and employment creation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EIB Group Activities in EU cohesion regions in 2021 |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/online/eib-group-activities-in-eu-cohesion-regions-2021.htm |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=www.eib.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National operational programme SME Initiative |url=https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/atlas/programmes/2014-2020/italy/2015it16rfsm001 |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=ec.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref> Over €1 billion in finance has been catalyzed in these eight locations to far, supporting almost 5 000 [[Small and medium-sized enterprises|SMEs]] and small mid-caps.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Initiative for SMEs: EUR 1.3 billion for small businesses in Southern Italy |url=https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/newsroom/news/2018/01/26-01-2018-initiative-for-smes-eur-1-3-billion-for-small-businesses-in-southern-italy |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=ec.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

===Per capita GDP by region===
Today, [[Abruzzo]] is the richest southern Italian the region, and [[Calabria]] is the poorest.<ref>[https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf/81807e19-e4c8-2e53-c98a-933f5bf30f58 GDP per capita in EU regions Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018] ''ec.europa.eu'', accessed 25 December 2022</ref><ref>[https://www.statista.com/statistics/658274/gross-domestic-product-gdp-per-capita-of-italy-by-region/ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Italy 2019, by region] ''www.statista.com'', accessed 25 December 2022</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|+ Southern Italy regions by GDP per capita<br>(in euro, at current market prices)<ref>{{cite web|title=Regional accounts: per capita values|url=http://dati.istat.it/?lang=en&SubSessionId=d7346671-4bc3-4bf8-a16a-0d9cd55e9ce9&themetreeid=-200|publisher=Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|access-date=24 November 2017}}</ref>
|-
! data-sort-type="number"|Rank !! Region !! 2017 !! % of nationwide average 
|-

| 12 || align="left" |{{flag|Abruzzo}}
| 25,000
| 86.51
|-
| 14 || align="left" |{{flag|Basilicata}}
| 21,400
| 74.05
|-
| 15 || align="left" |{{flag|Sardinia}}
| 20,900
| 72.32
|-
| 16 || align="left" |{{flag|Molise}}
| 20,100
| 69.55
|-
| 17 || align="left" |{{flag|Apulia}}
| 18,700
| 64.71
|-
| 18 || align="left" |{{flag|Campania}}
| 18,500
| 64.01
|-
| 19 || align="left" |{{flag|Sicily}}
| 17,700
| 61.25
|-
| 20 || align="left" |{{flag|Calabria}}
| 17,400
| 60.21
|-
| — || align="left" |{{flag|Italy}}
|'''28,900'''
|'''100.00'''''
|-
|}

==Culture==
[[File:Eq it-na pizza-margherita sep2005 sml.jpg|thumb|right|Modern-style pizza, such as the ''[[pizza Margherita]]'', [[History of pizza|originated]] in [[Naples]]]]
[[File:Matera boenisch nov 2005.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Sassi di Matera]] have been described by [[Fodor's]] as "one of the most unique landscapes in Europe"<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=DdaXX0IyFKUC&q=matera+%22one+of+the+most+unique+landscapes+in+Europe%22%22&pg=PT195 Fodor's Southern Italy]'', Fodor's Travel, 22 March 2011</ref>]]

The regions of southern Italy were exposed to some different historical influences from those the rest of the peninsula, starting most notably with [[Greek colonisation]] in [[Magna Graecia]]. Greek influence in the south was dominant until Latinisation was completed by the time of the Roman [[Principate]]. Greek influences returned by the late Roman Empire, especially following the reconquests of [[Justinian I|Justinian]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]].

Sicily, a distinctive [[Norman–Arab–Byzantine culture]] throughout the [[Middle Ages]], was captured by Muslims and turned into an Emirate for a period, and elements of Arab culture were introduced via Sicily to Italy and Europe. The rest of the mainland was subject to a struggle of power among the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], [[Lombards]], and [[Franks]]. In addition, the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] established outposts as trade with [[Byzantium]] and the [[Near East]] increased.

Until the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|Norman conquests]] of the 11th and the 12th centuries much of the south followed [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern rite]] (Greek) [[Christianity]]. The Normans who settled in Sicily and southern Italy in the Middle Ages significantly impacted the architecture, religion and high culture of the region. Later, southern Italy was subjected to rule by the new European nation-states, first the [[Crown of Aragon]], then [[Spain]] and finally [[Austria]]. The Spanish had a major impact on the culture of the south, having ruled it for over three centuries.

[[Jews|Jewish]] communities lived in Sicily and southern Italy for over 15 centuries, but in 1492, King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] proclaimed the [[Edict of Expulsion]]. At their height, Jewish Sicilians probably constituted around one tenth of the island's population. After the edict, they partially converted to [[Christianity]] and some moved to the [[Ottoman Empire]] and other places in Italy and Europe. In the 19th century, street musicians from [[Basilicata]] began to roam worldwide to seek a fortune, most of them would become professional instrumentalists in symphonic orchestras, especially in the [[United States]].<ref>[[International Council for Traditional Music]], ''Report from the International Meeting of the International Council for Traditional Music's Study Group on Folk Musical Instruments, Volume 11'', Musikmuseet, 1992, p. 54</ref>

Southern Italy has many major tourist attractions, such as the [[Royal Palace of Caserta|Palace of Caserta]], the [[Amalfi Coast]], [[Pompeii]], [[Sassi di Matera]], [[Trullo|Trulli di Alberobello]] and other archaeological sites (many of which are protected by [[UNESCO]]). There are also many [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] cities in southern Italy, such as [[Sybaris]] and [[Paestum]], which were founded several centuries before the start of the [[Roman Republic]]. Some of its beaches, woodlands and mountains are preserved in several [[List of national parks of Italy|National Parks]]; a major example is the [[Pollino]], between Basilicata and Calabria, that hosts the [[Pollino National Park|largest national park]] in Italy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Visit Italy's largest park – Parco del Pollino|url=https://www.italymagazine.com/italy/calabria/visit-italys-largest-park-parco-del-pollino|website=italymagazine.com|date=23 July 2009|access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref>

In recent years, southern Italy has experienced a revival of its traditions and [[Music of Italy|music]], such as the [[Canzone napoletana|Neapolitan song]] and the ''[[tarantella]]''.
<gallery caption="Linguistic borders of the [[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian]] southern Italian" mode="packed" style="font-size:88%; line-height:150%" heights="150">
File:Neapolitan noborders.jpg|Range of the southern Italian dialects ([[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]])
File:Dialetti italiani meridionali estremi.svg|Range of the [[Extreme Southern Italian|extreme southern Italian]] dialects
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy}}
* [[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)]]
* [[NUTS statistical regions of Italy]]
* [[Italian NUTS level 1 regions]]:
** [[Northwest Italy]]
** [[Northeast Italy]]
** [[South Italy]]
** [[Insular Italy]]
* [[Northern Italy]]
* [[Central Italy]]
* [[Meridionalism]]
* [[Southern Italy autonomist movements]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Albanese, Salvatore Nicodemo. ''Gramsci and the Southern Question'' (1980)
* Schneider, Jane. ''Italy's 'Southern Question': Orientalism in One Country'' (1998)
* Dal Lago, Enrico, and Rick Halpern, eds. ''The American South and the Italian Mezzogiorno: Essays in Comparative History'' (2002) {{ISBN|0-333-73971-X}}
* Doyle, Don. ''Nations Divided: America, Italy, and the Southern Question'' (2002)
* Moe, Nelson. ''The View from Vesuvius: Italian Culture and the Southern Question'' (2002)
* Spagnoletti, Angelantonio. ''Storia del Regno delle Due Sicilie'' (2008)
* Nitti, Francesco Saverio. ''Eroi e briganti'' (1899–2015)
* Di Lampedusa, Tomasi. ''Il gattopardo'' (1958–2018)
* Pinto, Carmine. ''La guerra per il Mezzogiorno. Italiani, borbonici e briganti 1860–1870'' (2019)

{{Italy topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Geography of Italy]]
[[Category:Society of Italy]]
[[Category:Regions of Italy]]